Reclusive
by Krazypeople
Summary: Due to Kaneki's female nature, Hide never spoke to her and she became a lonely existence. When college comes around, events stir into motion. Female Kaneki, no pairings decided. Rated T because it's Tokyo Ghoul.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** All rights and credits for the masterpiece Tokyo Ghoul go to Ishida Sui, not this chump. This is purely a fan work based off of the dark story Ishida-san weaves and its characters; made solely for the authoress' enjoyment. Besides, the Manga would never _ever_ have the same amount of class if I owned it.

Now then, please enjoy. Flamers will be eaten by ghouls.

* * *

Prologue

" _Look at her." Someone whispered, pointing to a black-haired girl. Her shoulders were slumped forward, making her even shorter than she already was; her eyes were clouded and puffy from crying. Overall, her disposition was very gloomy and morose, so everyone tended to avoid the girl._

" _Yeah, she looks even worse today." Another chimed in._

" _Well, what did you expect? She just lost both of her parents."_

 _The girl tensed, hearing all of the group's conversation. Her dark hair covered her face, hiding any tears about to fall. She trembled and could barely hold up the book she was currently reading._

" _I'm gonna go talk to her!" A blonde boy declared loudly, puffing out his chest like some valiant savior._

" _What? Hide, no."_

 _The blonde, Hide, deflated. "Whaaa?! Why not?"_

" _Well," the other person sputtered, "It's_ Kaneki. _" They stated as if that would clear up everything._

 _Hide frowned and looked around his group of friends to find them all nodding in agreement. His eyebrows crinkled and he said, "So?"_

" _Sooo, one, she's a loner. She doesn't talk to anyone, and especially not you! Not to mention she's a girl! She's like a completely different species from us guys!"_

 _Hide continued to frown and opened his mouth to justify her—she could just be shy or something—but, he was cut off by his other friends who would hear no more of his nonsense._

" _Hide, just drop it. Anyway, it's lunchtime and I'm starving! Let's go eat outside!"_

 _The group chattered as they left the classroom, leaving the sullen girl behind. Hide looked back briefly and gasped as his vibrant brown eyes met the girl's saddened gray. One thing was on his mind as he left the room:_

I'm going to help her.

* * *

Now, several years have gone by and he hasn't even lifted a finger.

* * *

 **A/N:** Alright, I know I have ultimately signed myself up to commit to this story by publishing it, however, updates will be...scarce. If any of you have read my most recent story, you know that this one was coming up. I had imposed August 3rd to be my deadline, even though it's the 6th but whatever...Anyway, August 3rd was when school started up for me and I thought I'd have this story all finished up by then.

I had gravely overestimated my abilities.

Procrastination lead to zero work being done and this story is virtually only 10% finished, if even that. I hope you'll have patience and know that the time between updates will be a month at best. Probably the first Friday of every month. Thank you.

Sincerely,  
Krazypeople


	2. Solitude

**Disclaimer:** Me? Own Tokyo Ghoul? Ha! Only in my dreams… Ishida Sui is amazing.

* * *

Chapter 1: Solitude

A girl sat at a small table in Anteiku, idly reading a book titled, _The Black Goat's Egg._ She wore a thick, loose-fitting blue sweater over a light blue dress shirt, adorning her legs were baggy, gray pants and on her feet were brown flats. Setting the book down, she silently picked up her cup of coffee and took a small sip. The scalding hot liquid quickly made its way down her throat, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Just the way she liked it. Her name is Kaneki Kenna, a student at Kamii University majoring in Literature.

The Lit. student picked her book back up, slowly scanning the text to find where she left off. She felt a pair of eyes burning a hole into the back of her head and casually looked around. Gray met brown and the quiet girl felt a sudden pang of déjà vu.

The brown orbs, despite being caught, didn't look away and Kaneki felt herself start to blush under the intense stare. She was able to keep a blank face, however, and went back to reading.

 _It's him again, s_ he thought. _He's been staring a lot more lately._

Nagachika Hideyoshi. Her classmate from Kamii. She's known him since elementary, but they never really talked.

She quickly glanced back at the dirty-blonde and saw him look at a particular waitress with a strange adoration. Kaneki knew the girl: Kirishima Touka. A brash waitress who made a mean cup of coffee. In a way, Kaneki could understand his infatuation. Kirishima-San was definitely pretty with her intense, yet soft purplish-blue eyes and long lashes. Then there was her cute bob-styled hair with bangs covering the right half of her face—therefore giving her a mysteriously beautiful look.

Kaneki watched with distant interest as Nagachika loudly called the waitress over, asking her for her name while not-so-subtly hiding his crush.

Kaneki shook her head at the pathetic attempt _._

The waitress seemed to have the same line of thought, as she quickly told him her name before walking (running) away. Nagachika, despite being blatantly rejected, sparkled and looked dazedly in Kirishima's direction.

Kaneki snickered softly, finding the boy's actions to be cute, if not a bit childish. He saw her laughing and gently smiled. Her eyes widened in surprise and she looked away, desperately holding down a blush. Nagachika stood up slowly and walked to the café's exit, saying a quick goodbye to Kirishima. He opened the door and paused to glance at Kaneki. She looked back at him and gave a reluctant wave to which he returned. Finally, he left and she sighed out of relief. _How awkward._

* * *

The purple haired woman walked into the cafe, all eyes turning towards her. She basked in the attention and gave a smile to all her admirers. Flipping her purple hair onto her shoulder, she sat down to order. This was her favorite spot and the humans who came in here were almost always delicious. She opened her book, _The Black Goat's Egg_ , smiled to herself, and glanced around the room to look for her next prey. Her eyes fell on a boy, about her age, with blonde hair and a bright smile. He smelled absolutely _delectable,_ however, his eyes weren't on her like most other men in the café. Instead, they were on a raven-haired girl dwarfed in clothing too big for her. He exchanged a brief goodbye with the small girl then left. Pity.

Since her first target was gone, the young woman was forced to settle her attention—as well as her appetite—on the raven girl he was looking at. The woman shook her head. _Such poor fashion sense for such a pretty girl. What a shame._

The woman watched as the black-haired girl sat there, reading a book while looking quite at home. She was unaware of the stare being given to her as her attention was drawn to the item in her hands.

The purple-haired woman looked closer at the book and was surprised to see it was Takatsuki Sen's. She gave a feral grin. Gender be damned, that girl was going to be her next meal.

* * *

Feeling another pair of eyes on her, Kaneki looked up just in time to see a strange purple-haired woman looking at her as if she were prey. The woman was, needless to say, beautiful. Her long purple hair was loosely tied into a low ponytail with white cloth. Her dark purple eyes were framed by a pair of red glasses and she wore a tight-fitting dress, showing off her hourglass figure. The woman smiled as Kaneki blankly stared at her. The girl knew the smile was meant to be friendly and disarming, but all she felt was terror.

She quickly looked back down at her book as the woman got up and started walking, presumably to the exit. While walking, the woman accidentally bumped into Kaneki's table, startling the raven into dropping her book. As Kaneki reached down to get the precious item, she was surprised to see two—not one—copies of _The Black Goat's Egg._

"I see you like Takatsuki Sen's work as well?" A smooth voice acknowledged. Kaneki looked up, straight into the eyes of her downfall.

The woman smiled. "My name is Kamishiro Rize."

* * *

Rize-san turned out to be a very nice woman, unlike Kaneki's prior assumptions. Truth be told, Kaneki felt a little ashamed at judging the woman so quickly. After all, never judge a book by its cover.

The two girls stayed in Anteiku for a while, chatting up a storm about Takatsuki Sen's work. It was nearly 11 o'clock when they were kicked out of the café since it was closing time.

"I hope to see you later Rize-san," Kaneki said, giving a tiny smile to her new, and her first, friend—if she could even call the woman that. Before Kaneki could leave, however, Rize called out to her.

"A-ah! Wait!" Rize quickly ran to the smaller girl's side. "Young girls shouldn't be walking home on their own, especially with all the ghoul attacks going around. Let me walk with you."

Kaneki gazed at Rize questioningly. The purple head was a bit _too_ eager to walk with her. "It's okay, I always walk home alone. Besides, we're the same age." She gave a wry grin, "Anyway, I don't think any ghoul would be interested in someone as scrawny as me; with my dull black hair and lifeless gray eyes, even I wouldn't spare myself a second glance." Kaneki shrugged and started to walk away again.

"On the contrary, I think you're very beautiful," Rize assured, walking quickly to catch up with the raven. "Your hair is a lovely ebony and your eyes are a nice shade of mercury. In addition, your diminutive stature just makes seem very cute and shy." Rize smiled. "My house is in the same direction as yours anyway, might as well walk together."

Kaneki stopped abruptly and nodded, speechless. No one has ever called her anything close to cute before. Scrawny? Yes. Weird? Yes. Cute? Definitely not.

The pair continued their trek in silence and Kaneki's mind raced with something to keep the conversation going. She didn't want to lose her newfound friend so quickly.

The two walked through several streets, getting less and less populated for each one. Though, Kaneki was oblivious to all the red flags. Soon enough, they walked down a small alleyway onto a completely empty road by some railroad tracks.

Just as Kaneki opened her mouth to say something—anything—Rize began speaking.

"You know Kaneki-chan, when you said that no ghoul would ever be interested in you, I really wanted to argue with you." Rize paused at Kaneki's confused expression. "After all, you're so beautiful and smart…" Rize gave a shark-like smile, "Why not let me…have a taste?" With that, Rize grabbed Kaneki's hand, pulled her in…and stole one, huge chunk of her shoulder.

"Gaaaah!" The smaller girl gave a blood-curdling scream, but unfortunately, no one was around to hear it. Kaneki scrambled away from Rize, falling down in the process. She looked around and noticed that they were near a construction site, away from prying eyes.

Rize walked up to her victim and giggled, high off of bloodlust. "You know, Kaneki-chan~, I really do like you. You have just the right amount of fat, but not too much muscle; perfect for me to sink my teeth into your flesh!" Her kagune was now out, waving about wildly. "Ka~ne~ki~chan! Do you know there's one part of _The Black Goat's Egg_ that never fails to make me shudder?" Rize's smile became contorted. "Where the Black Goat catches a man who's running away in bewilderment…and rips out a~ll his entrails."

The girl, who should've been scared out of her wits, took a deep breath. She shakily looked up at Rize and, instead of running around in every which direction like a headless chicken, stared at the ghoul, almost expectantly. Rize stopped mid-high. "What the hell are you looking at?" Rize frowned. "Why aren't you scared?!" She lunged at the defenseless girl, impaling her and smiled, expecting a look of despair to come onto Kaneki's face. However, all Kaneki did was stare blankly.

Rize backed up, "What the…What's wrong with you?!" She started screaming, her eyes wide with anger and frustration, "Cry! Scream! Run away! DO SOMETHING!"

Kaneki laughed bitterly. It was a humorless laugh, one that disclosed a person's outright disregard for living.

Kaneki coughed out blood and Rize paid rapt attention, curious as to why her prey was acting like such. "I've always been alone," Kaneki began, her voice was so weak that Rize had to strain her ears just to hear. "I've always been useless—a nuisance." Her voice grew stronger. "No one else cares about me so why should I?! If you're going to kill me then just do it!" Kaneki screamed, then began hacking up more blood.

Rize scowled. "You're disgusting. But at least there's one thing about your pathetic monologue that's true." Her scowl turned into a sharp grin. "You will always be a useless existence. Up to the very point I devour you. Do you know what I'm called?" Rize brought in Kaneki close to her face. "Binge eater. I eat purely for fun. Even now my stomach is full, it wouldn't matter whether or not I eat you; You're just a toy to pass the time."

Kaneki did her best not to feel hurt and—surprisingly enough—she didn't. Just empty.

Rize pointed all her Kagune at the prey in front of her and smiled once more. "Now then…please die."

And so, the hopeless girl closed her eyes in anxious anticipation. Fear bubbled in her chest and she wondered if she should have put up more of a struggle. Lives are precious after all. Then, an ominous creak sounded from above her head. She opened her eyes and looked up just in time to see steel beams fall straight on Rize.

In the distance as Kaneki fell unconscious, she swore that she saw a clown laughing as if it were all a cruel joke.

Perhaps it was.

* * *

Rushed voices spoke all around her. She looked around but realized her eyes were covered. She felt something warm on her back.

"Her abdomen… lost… intestines… shattered… her-!"

 _What is going on?_ Kaneki wondered blearily.

"And transplant her organs into…!"

 _Organ transplant? Why...where am I?_

"Heart rate stabilized! The operation has been a success!"

There was a steady noise sounding around her, calming her. It was her heartbeat.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

She woke up, her eyes opened to reveal one gray eye...and one red.

* * *

When Hide heard that Kaneki was in the hospital, he didn't know what to think. He wanted to be sad, wanted to be mad at the one who put her in this situation, wanted to visit her all at once. But, he had trouble doing so. What if she rejected him? They're not friends, hell, she barely knows him. And if he were rejected, he wouldn't be able to handle it. For all his cheeriness and all of his jokes, he was really serious about this girl. Hide was supposed to help her, he was supposed to befriend her, but he never did. He let her suffer alone instead of doing something about it like he wanted to.

Simply put, Hide was a coward. Yeah, he talked big and made all these declarations of going to become her friend, but when it came to acting upon them, he froze. Even he is prone to the status quo and back then, having lots of friends and being super popular was what everyone wanted. The _weird_ and _creepy_ girl would damage that. So, the girl went her whole elementary, middle, and high school life friendless. Forever _that_ girl. In a way, Hide was no better— _worse_ than the other people, because he _saw_ what she was going through and ignored it.

Now, the same thing was about to happen. Was it too late for him to come in, brandishing his sword and riding his horse?

* * *

Kaneki felt...normal. The more time passed, the more she felt as if the events with Rize were unreal. But, the scar on her abdomen was proof that they were indeed true.

The scar troubled her. _What happens when you transplant a ghoul's organs into a human's body?_

She didn't want to know and yet, in the very depths of her mind, she knew what she had become. She felt no feelings of hatred for the doctor that turned her into such, he didn't know that Rize was a ghoul. But still...there was that inkling of anger and frustration that she couldn't shake. It wasn't directed toward Kanou, the doctor, or at Rize or even herself. It was directed at her classmates because she just knew that they wouldn't care that she was a ghoul. They would probably sell her out if they ever found the truth.

Kaneki stared at the food in front of her. It looked good, really good. But when she took a bite...it tasted horrible. The nurse came in and looked at Kaneki's full plate with worry and disapproval.

"Is that all you're going to eat?"

Kaneki nodded, not trusting her voice.

The nurse took the plate of food away from her and, after a hesitant pause, asked, "Do you have anyone who would want to visit you?" The woman stopped, choosing her words carefully. "You seem awfully lonely."

Kaneki smiled, though it was clearly strained, as she weakly replied, "I'm not lonely, rather, I enjoy solitude."

The nurse decided to leave it at that. The patient clearly didn't want to talk.

More days passed with the unfortunate patient, Kaneki Kenna. The nurse talked to her other friends about the girl frequently.

"The poor thing is so...so lonely. No one ever visits her but she's so sweet." The nurse lamented.

The others let out murmurs of agreement.

"Don't worry Taguchi, I'm sure she'll be fine." Someone offered politely.

"No!" The nurse, Taguchi, shook her head. "It's just not right."

"Taguchi…" The other took on a patronizing tone to which Taguchi quickly stood up.

"I'm going to check on her again!"

"Ah—wait!"

Taguchi didn't care. She'll be there for the girl.

* * *

When the nurse arrived at Kaneki's room, she saw the girl reading—again. She looked at peace and completely sucked into the book. The book must have been at the climax, or at least an exciting part, for the nurse saw the girl's breath quicken and her eyes roved the page from left to right at a speed the nurse had only wished to achieve. As much as the woman loved seeing her patients happy, she knew that the excitement wasn't good for the girl at the moment. She took the book out of the patient's hands.

"W-wait!" Kaneki wrought a pathetic attempt at grabbing the book, however, the nurse was too tall. The patient scowled, or tried to. It came out more pouty than Kaneki would've cared for. Taguchi giggled.

"You're too cute Kaneki-chan. However, reading isn't good for you right now."

"But-!"

"The excitement wasn't good for your heart; you need to focus more on resting. Your eyes were damaged in the accident as well, so you need to make sure they heal up before you strain them more! Or else you may need glasses." Taguchi's hand was now resting firmly on her hip as she reprimanded the poor girl. She was in full mother-hen mode.

"I understand…" Kaneki mumbled, eyes downcast.

"Good!" Taguchi smiled to reassuringly. "You'll be fine in due time."

One might question why Taguchi was so kind to Kaneki. You could say that it was her job, or that she was just naturally kind. Maybe it was both. But mostly it was because she knew exactly what the girl was going to face in the future.

Kanou had to let _someone_ know.

* * *

Hide finally got the courage to see Kaneki on the third day she was in the hospital. It took several hours and a lot of pacing—talking to himself like a weirdo helped too—but he finally got the courage to see her. He _did_ try to visit her before but only got as far as the parking lot. This time, he might get as far as the front door!

It was only a second after Hide made up his mind that he came up with something to stall himself. He decided he needed to get a gift for the girl; he can't show up at a hospital with nothing. He has to bring flowers or something-or so he told himself. It was just the right thing to do.

Hide thought about it and his overactive imagination came up with several scenarios. None of which worked.

After thinking long and hard—also asking his mother, a conversation he would rather forget—Hide finally decided to bring the girl hamburger and other leftovers. It was actually a good idea since he vaguely remembers that Kaneki said her favorite food was hamburger during an icebreaker. Also, for some weird motherly reason, it was recommended that he write a note. Again, he would rather not recall that conversation. Something about love poems and how they get you extra "brownie points".

All that was left was to actually go to the hospital.

Hide, at first, attempted to get a taxi but realized that there would be too much time alone in the car for him to think about chickening out. Then he decided to ride a bike. It worked, but definitely wasn't the best idea. I mean, he's a college student going to the prestigious Kamii University. That place works him so hard that he barely has enough time to even think about exercise. By the time he made it to the hospital, sweat was dripping down his face in waterfalls and his lungs were on fire

"Note to self," Hide panted. "Work out more."

The student stood in front of the building for a while, somehow hoping that Kaneki would come out and all of a sudden be really friendly and then they'd be best friends and he wouldn't have to actually go inside. But life doesn't listen to everyone's wishes.

After anxiously walking around in circles and whispering himself words of encouragement, Hide finally steeled his nerves. "I can do this."

He took one step towards the electronic sliding doors. Then another. And another. The tall, even prison-like building loomed over his head. He was so close to the building that he could count the individual beads of sweat on his face using his reflection.

Hide was about ten steps away from the doors as he neared the final boss: the rude desk lady. He breathed deeply and stepped closer and closer. The doors sensed him and opened, Hide glanced inside.

The whole front office was basically empty. "Lucky~" Hide smiled at his good fortune.

He stealthily made his way up to the front desk, still, no one was in sight. He attempted to search the hospital database but came out empty handed.

"What the heck is with this system?" He grumbled.

"Can I help you with something?" A woman's voice sounded from behind the boy.

"Hurk!" Hide made an odd choking sound and whirled around to face a nurse in her white uniform. She had brown eyes and brown hair, done into a low ponytail. Her chin-length bangs were pushed to the side with a purple hair clip and on her uniform, a nametag read: Taguchi.

"O-oh!" He stuttered out a response. "You see, I was just...just trying to find my friend and since the desk lady wasn't here I just thought I could search it up myself?" It was a flimsy and pathetic-sounding excuse but at least it was true.

The woman scrutinized Hide carefully and then looked at the empty front desk. After what seemed like ages, she sighed. "That no-good…" Hide heard her grumbling about bad employees and how someone ought to fire 'her'. Whoever that was. At least the nurse woman seemed to believe him.

"S-so...Am I good now?" Hide asked hesitantly.

"Yes, yes." Taguchi-san made a shooing motion. "Just...I'm sorry I can't deal with this now. If you would please just leave your message with me and then go on your way. I'll make sure the person receives what you give."

It was then that Hide realized he left his bike sitting out in the parking lot with no protection. In his nervous rush and weird babbling, he must have forgotten it. His eyes widened.

"Y-yes! Here!" Hide quickly jammed his bag of leftovers into the woman's impatient hands. "It's just some of her favorite food. I've gotta go!" Hide rushed to the door. "Oh! And give that to Kaneki Kenna!" Hide called back before stumbling out of the building, leaving a shocked and quite pleased nurse.

He ran to the spot where his bike should've been.

"No." Hide grabbed his hair in frustration. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, noooooo!" His precious bike was gone. Hide dropped to his knees out of frustration and a groan escaped his dry lips.

* * *

Finally, after one more day, Kaneki was let out of the hospital. Kanou and a few of the nurses saw the girl off. Most of the staff was sorry to see her go. She was very respectful and kind, though a bit shy. She liked to think of herself as a cold and antisocial person, but they knew better.

"Ah, Kaneki-san, before you go I have something for you!" Taguchi quickly ran back inside the hospital and came out with a plastic bag in her hand.

"What's it for?" Kaneki stared at the bag skeptically.

The nurse smiled, "A young man came by yesterday, he was handsome too." She winked. "Told me to give this to you."

Kaneki slowly reached out for the bag, a look of doubt and slight curiosity written on her face. "Thank you…?" She took the bag gingerly and looked in.

"A hamburger?" She looked back at the nurse.

"Said it was your favorite." Taguchi beamed. "Now then, it's about time for you to go back home."

Kaneki smiled—something she should do more often—and bowed. "Goodbye. Thank you very much."

"Nonsense!" Taguchi smiled. "It's our job."

* * *

Kaneki finally arrived back at her house. She scanned the empty kitchen with its small cabinets over the cramped oven/stove and dishwasher. The cold, stainless steel fridge being next to them. An island surrounded by chairs held a sink and basic cooking utensils in the middle, the washer machine sitting next to the sink. She sighed and put the plastic bag on the kitchen counter. Now that she thought about it, she never got the nurse to tell her who left it… _Oh well._

Kaneki yawned and accidentally knocked down the plastic bag, spilling all of its contents. She just shook her head and started picking up the items. Besides the hamburger, there were a few leftovers such as rice and miso soup, even some sushi. When she grabbed the container with the hamburger, she noticed a small note stuck onto it. Interested, she plucked it off and opened it.

 _To: Icicle-chan_

 _Hello! :)_

 _Hope you don't mind my little nickname for you, it's just that you're always so cold. Maybe if you loosened up a bit I could call you…Kuroneko! Yeah, I like that! I'm definitely gonna call you that now, you can't stop me. ;)_

 _Any-who, come back to school soon! I'll have notes for you so don't worry! I hope the hamburger is better suited to your tastes than nasty hospital food._

 _(P.S.) Forgot to mention that this is Hide…oops!_

Kaneki couldn't help but smile, but she quickly shook her head and put her face back in neutral.

 _It's probably just an act to make himself look nice… I'm probably just a charity case to him._ Kaneki crumpled the note. "I'm sorry Nagachika." She threw it in the trash.

Kaneki walked slowly from the kitchen into her tiny room. "I'm so tired..."

* * *

Omake 1.0

Kaneki coughed out blood and Rize paid rapt attention, curious as to why her prey was acting like such. "I've always been alone," Kaneki began, her voice was so weak that Rize had to strain her ears just to hear. "I've always been useless—a nuisance." Her voice grew stronger. "No one cares about me so why should I?! If you're going to kill me then just do it!"

Suddenly, words appeared on the screen over the scene and a baritone voice said,  
"Nike. Just do it."

"Aaaaaand cut! That's a wrap, good work everybody!"

Man, Nike commercials are getting really dark these days.

* * *

Omake 2.0

Kaneki stared at the food in front of her. It looked good, really good. But when she took a bite...it tasted horrible.

Then again, it was hospital food.

* * *

Omake 3.0

When the nurse arrived at Kaneki's room, she saw the girl reading—again. She looked at peace and completely sucked into the book. The book must have been at the climax, or at least an exciting part, for the nurse saw the girl's breathing quicken and her eyes roved the page from left to right. A sly thought came to Taguchi's mind and she crept towards the unsuspecting girl with a grin.

"What's got you so excited?" Taguchi spoke suddenly. "Are you reading one of those erotic books? Never took you as a perv Kaneki-san."

The girl was immediately flustered. "W-what? N-NO!"

* * *

Omake 4.0

Should he order some flowers and maybe write a card?

Hide thought about it and his overactive imagination came up with several scenarios. None of which worked.

Scenario 1:

Hide walks into Kaneki's room. "Hey, I got you some flowers!"

The girl is reading and only semi-listens. She tilts her head to her bedside table to indicate that that is where he should put them.

"Oh, um, okay." Hide awkwardly puts the flowers down. "Um…bye?"

"Thanks for visiting." Are the only words she's spoken since he came in.

"Oh. Bye." Hide leaves stiffly as if he's the tin man and needs to be oiled.

Kaneki finishes reading and finally looks at the flowers and the card, it reading:

 _Dear Kaneki, sorry you got hit by falling steel beams._

 _Sincerely, a classmate from college you hardly even know,_

 _Hide_

Scenario 2:

Hide walks into Kaneki's hospital room, a charming smile on his face. "Hey, Kaneki! I brought you some flowers!"

The girl looks at him confusedly. "Who are you?"

Scenario 3:

"Yo Kaneki!" Hide walks into the room, waving for one reason or another. "Brought you some flowers."

She replies blandly. "I'm allergic."

"Shit." Hide curses.

Flowers definitely won't work.

* * *

Omake 5.0

The nurse watched as the young man got off his bike, panting like a fat dog after a run. She questioned his sanity over and over again as he walked around in circles in the parking lot while mumbling one thing or another. His bike laid on the ground. Completely unguarded. For the taking. Just waiting for a no-good lazy worker—who doesn't have a car—to take it and leave her no-good dead-end job. (It was to her anyway)

But that would be morally wrong. She does have work to do. (Sitting at the front desk and greeting people with a dull smile in order to make them think she cares) Also, she's completely irreplaceable, no one else will ever be as good as her. (There are literally tons of interns waiting for her to get fired because all she does is sit around and wait for money like a bum) And her boss _loves_ her. (He even complimented her. Said she had two nice, lovely boo—eyes. He said she had lovely eyes.)

Screw it. She's taking the bike.

Ah, but where are her manners? She should probably leave a note. Yes, that would be the best thing to do. I mean, come on. If you're going to steal something you've gotta let the owner know. It's only polite.

* * *

Omake 6.0:

"No." Hide grabbed his hair in frustration. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, noooooo!" His precious bike was gone. Hide dropped to his knees out of frustration and then came face with a yellow sticky note. He picked it up.

 _To whoever owns this bike,_

 _Thank you for conveniently leaving your bike out in the open. I've probably made good use out of it by now and am very grateful for your service. The bike was a call from heaven for me as my work was beginning to become tedious. Also, please be more careful with your belongings. There are all sorts of people out there who are waiting for dumb kids like you to leave your stuff out. In a way, it's really your fault for leaving all of it for the taking. But that's not the point._

 _Anyway, thank you again bike-owner-san, for leaving your bike out in the open._

 _~ Ak—Oops! Almost told you my real name. Let's just say…_

 _Sincerely,_

 _A crazy person_

If anyone is wondering, that is a reference to my name.

* * *

Omake 7.0

Hide was in the middle of class, daydreaming about a certain girl. _I wonder how Kaneki is doing…Did she get the bag? I wonder if she thinks I'm a creep for knowing her favorite dish…_ Suddenly his mind drifted to the note he left her and he blushed.

 _Aggghhhhh!_ He screamed, ruffling his hair in frustration and mortification. _Icicle-chan? Kuroneko? What the hell was I thinking?! Now she probably thinks I'm a sick pervert with a nickname fetish!_

A giggle interrupted his train of thought and Hide realized he was voicing all of his thoughts out loud.

"Well, shit."

The teacher, red-faced, pointed at him. "Detention!" The man shouted.

And that's how Hide was bestowed with the name Fetish-kun.

* * *

 **A/N:** Aaaaaand I'll leave it at that. Thanks for reading! I've had this idea for a while, so I'm glad I can finally get the story out! You have no idea how many times I've revised this… Anyway, I know I said I would update on the first Friday of every month, but I felt bad leaving you guys with a very short prologue. So, here's the first chapter!

Keep in mind, this is mainly based off of the manga, but canon divergence is going to be a maximum if I can help it.

Thanks again!

Sincerely,

Krazypeople

(P.S.) Just saying, that dividing line is going to appear every time there's a shift in perspective or a slight time skip.

 **Edit:** 9/1/16  
Just a few grammar errors fixed and changing the OC nurse to the original plot's. Had no idea that Ishida-san actually gave the nurse a name. Lol.


	3. Leap of Faith

**Disclaimer:** Ishida Sui owns Tokyo Ghoul, not me.

 **To the guest reviewers:  
Guest (The one who didn't put a name down):**Haha thanks! I do try my best to make everything interesting, so it's really great to hear that my writing is exciting even during calm parts (which I understand perfectly). I can't tell you how happy your comment made me, really, thank you.

 **Minor Nitpicks:** I actually had no idea the nurse had a name. See, I don't keep up with names in TG _at all._ I honestly couldn't tell you the difference between any of the supporting characters. All these names are just flying over my head. Also, nice little tidbit about Madame A. And don't worry, I will try to make this story as OC free as possible. It was not my intention to bring in an important OC! Anyway, about the detention thing. Yeah, I know detention doesn't really happen in colleges. Nor does it happen in any other school. It was always silent lunch in my middle school and in my high school everything seems to be met with an immediate suspension or a parent-teacher conference. I hope you continue to find the story refreshing. I do try my best.

 **Dotti3:** Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like the story so far, even if we're only one chapter in. I was actually really worried about those Omakes, they're just so…ugh. But as trashy and slightly cliché as they are, I really enjoyed writing them, so I'm just overjoyed that I actually made someone laugh with them. Thank _you_ for reading and reviewing my story. :)

* * *

Chapter 2: Leap of Faith

Kaneki didn't want to get up for classes today, so she didn't. It's not like anyone would miss her, in fact, they would probably think 'good riddance'. Honestly, one more day couldn't hurt…right?

Right.

So, instead of being a good girl, Kaneki went back to sleep.

* * *

 _She was floating. Floating into the clouds. Into the big blue sky. She could've sworn she saw a balloon beside her in the clouds; a small, blood red balloon. Then it began floating past her…no. She had stopped._

 _And then, she was falling. Again, all she could hear was that sick laughter._

* * *

Hide was excited about school. The first time in a long time. Kaneki was finally coming back to school. He didn't know if he was going to get the courage to speak to her again, but something will change. He can feel it in his bones.

It was the first time in a long time that he actually got up early to go to his university. It was the first time in a long time that he was relaxed on his way to school. It was the first time in a long time that he would finally talk to Kaneki.

And it was the first time in a long time that Kaneki hadn't gone to school willingly.

Was it bad that Hide was a little relieved?

* * *

"Ughh." The girl yawned and rubbed her eyes raw. She looked at the clock and sighed, suddenly regretting her decision to stay at home. _Probably should've gone…maybe I can still make it to my afternoon classes…_

Kaneki dragged herself out of bed to make herself more presentable. She slapped on a white dress shirt with a gray sweater on top and black pants, wearing black flats on her feet. After brushing her teeth and combing her hair, she walked into the kitchen and sat down at the counter. Taking a cursory glance around the room, she noticed that the food Nagachika gave her was still on the countertop. _I guess I forgot to put it away._

Kaneki walked up to the food and started to pick it up, but halted as she realized she hasn't eaten anything for nearly two days.

 _I know that I could very well have become a ghoul, but maybe…_ She looked at the hamburger in her hands and started opening the container cautiously.

She grabbed a knife and a fork out of her drawers and started cutting a small piece off. Shakily, she brought up the chunk towards her mouth. Feelings of both anticipation and dread built up in her stomach and she, not being able to take it any longer, shoved it into her mouth and swallowed.

It was horrible.

The girl ran to the bathroom to throw up. The worst part? She could taste the disgusting hamburger again on its way back up. She wiped her mouth and lifted a tremulous hand to flush the toilet.

 _It was like chewing pig intestines._ Kaneki shivered at the thought of the hamburger. _Disgusting._

She was able to stand up again after a few tries and gently walked back to the kitchen where she saw the food sitting innocently on the table. Feeling a surge of anger, she swiped the food off of the counter and completely wrecked her kitchen, opening the fridge and tossing goods out like garbage—which, to her, they technically were. She wanted to scream and cry but knew it would cause a ruckus—well, more so than she was already making.

Anger, Kaneki was just so angry.

 _Why is this happening? Why me? What am I going to do?_

Soon, she exhausted what little energy she had and collapsed on the floor. _Why wasn't I killed by Rize? How am I still alive?_

 _Why?_

She bit her lip and closed her eyes. But there were no tears. Just a bitter emptiness.

* * *

It was time for Kaneki's afternoon classes and she was still lying on the floor. She frowned and sighed—something she does too often—and pushed herself off the floor. Looking at the time she realized that she would just have to skip her courses altogether.

The ghoul looked around at the mess she made and resigned herself to picking up all the various food items strewn about. While cleaning up she noticed a small container of coffee sitting perfectly on the tabletop. She chuckled to herself and picked it up. _I guess you're the lone survivor, huh?_

Getting an urge to drink something, Kaneki decided, _what the hell?_ and brewed herself a cup. The aroma made her mouth water and she sighed, knowing that this would ultimately end up with her barfing in the toilet. Again. Picking up the steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee, she dunked the stuff down her throat.

"It…" Kaneki's eyes widened. "It's delicious." And suddenly, the dry faucet behind her eyes started leaking. She felt tears of pure, unadulterated joy run down her face, leaving behind troughs. She started brewing coffee like crazy until all she could smell was the liquid.

Getting an idea, Kaneki looked at a piece of bread and the crushed coffee beans. Throwing the grounds on the bread, she shoved the piece in her mouth and…spit it back out. Disguising food with the taste of coffee is a no-go then.

After downing cup after cup like some sort of alcoholic, she ran out. Taking another glance at the clock, Kaneki was surprised to find that it was fairly late. At least no one would question what a student was doing out of school.

The girl grabbed her wallet and ran to the closest grocery store. Which led her to another predicament. Looking at the rows and rows of coffee brands, Kaneki was at a loss of which to buy.

As she reached out for a random brand, a hand cut her off and picked out a jar of 'Blondy'. She looked over at the owner of the hand while backing off slightly—something which didn't go unnoticed, as she was given a thoroughly unimpressed look—and her eyes met twin hazelnuts.

"S-sorry!" Kaneki, against her instincts which were screaming at her to run away, hesitantly reached out for the same brand the man just picked. She glanced at the man and observed his light hazelnut hair and black glasses. She was so intent on staring at him that she was startled, and a little flustered, when the man started speaking.

"Blondy coffee is the best of the instant brands, you know. Has a real flavor, you could say." He handed her the jar in his hands and Kaneki allowed a small smile to appear on her face.

"Thank you…" Kaneki trailed off, not knowing how to address the man.

"Nishio Nishiki." He supplied.

* * *

Nishio watched as the girl—she said Kaneki was her name—picked out several different containers of Blondy. However, he just shrugged it off. He's very aware of the fact that ghouls can drink coffee—he _is_ one after all—but thought that such a weak person couldn't possibly be one. A quick whiff of her scent and anyone could tell she was bland. Besides, she's probably just a college student with a caffeine dependence looking for a cheap source of the stuff for late night projects.

With that problem solved, the man went out to look for dinner.

* * *

Kaneki walked out of the grocery store, having bought several jars of Blondy—something which got her many odd looks. While walking, an aromatic scent drew her in towards a small alleyway. _What is that?_ She wondered.

She wished she hadn't.

Sounds of someone chowing down a meal led the hybrid ghoul's eyes to a man, clearly a ghoul, eating a corpse. Her eye a sickening red and black once more, due to her excitement over meat. Human meat.

"No…" She couldn't believe she was enticed by the scent of a dead body.

The man was a vulture, hanging over a corpse and feeding off of it. He looked over at her, his eyes red and black. Kaneki didn't waste one more second in that alley. She ran. Which is too bad, she missed out on a fight between a certain hazel-eyed boy and a waitress with anger issues.

When Kaneki arrived home, she immediately ran into the bathroom. Mortification, frustration, and shame appeared on her face at seeing her disheveled and hunger-driven state.

She punched the mirror. Awed, and somehow calmed, by the cracks that appeared in the glass, she ran her other hand across the dangerously sharp surface. They wouldn't cut her anyway. Kaneki's hand trailed over the part of the mirror reflecting her discolored eye and all of a sudden, she realized she would never again be the normal, sullen girl she was before.

She looked into her reflection's eyes and, with a dull laugh, said, "Look at us." She leaned in and tenderly laid her head on the cool surface. "How ugly we are."

The next day Kaneki had to wear a medical eyepatch to cover her 'ghoul eye'. It would be problematic if the thing turned red and black during class.

Walking into the familiar doors of Kamii, Kaneki breathed in deeply and hoped people would leave her alone. Maybe she could go on with the rest of her life by avoiding others. Of course, she knew that could never be possible.

* * *

Once Hide saw the figure of Kaneki walking down the hallway, he hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should run after the girl or just leave her alone. The hallway is a crowded area with lots of wandering eyes…Someone could easily spot him talking to her—

 _No._

He's not going to think like that anymore. This isn't middle school anymore. This is college. This is real life. Hide has to make his own decisions; he can't let other people's opinions sway him. The blonde steeled his nerves for a girl he hardly even knew. He put a bright smile on his face and shouted on a whim, "Kuroneko!"

Kaneki kept walking and Hide wasn't sure if she was ignoring him or if she simply didn't hear him. He ran up to her all the same.

Kaneki finally spun around to face the eager boy. He smiled and threw a casual arm around her. "What's up? How's your abdomen?" He ignored the looks other people were giving him.

"What the hell is he doing?" Someone whispered. Hide's smile twitched.

Kaneki flinched at the physical contact and slowly pulled his arm off her shoulder. Hide swore he might've seen a slight blush on her face. His smile increased tenfold.

"I'm fine and please don't call me that." She spoke.

Not leaving any more room for conversation, Kaneki quickly sped away. Hide pouted and ran after her. "Hey, what's with the cold shoulder…I'm trying to be friendly here." He smiled. "Or are you just being shy?"

The girl abruptly stopped and quietly told him that she didn't see the point of him talking to someone like her. They were polar opposites. "You understand, right? I'll just drag you down if you keep talking to a person like me. So please…leave me alone." Hide nearly expected Kaneki to add on that he never showed interest in her before, but was relieved when she didn't.

Hide frowned. "Pushing people away like this isn't good for your mental health. It's basically not living at all. You might as well kill yourself." He regretted it as soon as he said it.

Kaneki turned to face him, her eyes filled with the same hurt as that day in the classroom. "Maybe I will."

The faux blonde could only stare after her as she walked away. I mean, what did he expect? A warm smile and a hug? She doesn't even know him. God, he's such an idiot. However, he still felt worried and wanted to run after her again...but wouldn't know what to say. She wouldn't actually try to kill herself…would she?

* * *

Classes were horrible, just like that hamburger. Kaneki was ignored as per usual, however, some people did welcome her back from the hospital. Not like it mattered anyway. At least there weren't any bullies. Nagachika didn't try to approach her again either.

"Hey!"

Speak of the devil. A smiling, persistent Nagachika ran up to Kaneki.

"Hello." He scratched his cheek, suddenly not sure what to say. Kaneki waited patiently.

"Umm, would you like to hang out...?" He looked…nervous? "I'm really sorry about before, I shouldn't have said something so insensitive-"

"It's fine." Kaneki cut in, not wanting to listen to a string of apologies, especially since she was in the wrong too. "As for hanging out...I suppose I have some time." She tried to smile but failed miserably.

Hide grinned nonetheless, glad he was finally able to make a dent on Kaneki's well-stacked walls.

"Ah! First I have to pick up a DVD of last year's school festival! You see, I was invited to be on the festival committee and just couldn't say no. I love these sort of things…"

The conversation was basically like this on the whole walk to...well, Kaneki actually didn't know where they were going. Guess she'll find out.

"Hey."

Kaneki was startled out of her own thoughts and she looked over at the back of her acquaintance's head.

"Are you eating right? You look kinda pale." His voice was unusually serious and the girl was mildly shocked at how perceptive he was. He laughed to lighten the mood and added, "Well, paler than usual."

Kaneki gave a strained laugh and said, "I suppose my stomach was messed up after the accident. Nothing seems to stay in long before it comes back up." She gently brought her hand up to cup her chin and thoughtfully added, "I blame the medication."

"Oh okay." Nagachika seemed to accept the answer and shrugged off his previous doubt, moving onto a new topic.

Kaneki sighed in relief. _Looks like he bought my little white lie._

* * *

Hide didn't buy that line for a second. He knew she was lying as soon as she put that hand up to her chin. He was prepared to call her out on it, but saw how uncomfortable she was, and it was because of him. So he lightened up and let it slide.

They finally reached their destination.

"Here we are!" Hide gestured to a small door that seemed to be an entrance to a lounge area. Just as he reached for the door to open it, Kaneki shot out her hand to grab onto his.

"Whoa Kaneki, I think we're moving a bit too fast-" He shut up at the sight of her flushed face. _She's kinda cute._ He stared at her, his own face starting to become red.

"You should knock first."

"What, why?"

"Trust me." Kaneki quickly retracted her hand from Hide's and turned away.

Hide didn't question her actions any further and knocked. Some shuffling went on behind the door and a muffled voice said, "Come in."

He opened the door and the two went in. He was surprised—not surprised in Kaneki's case—to see two people, a girl, and a boy, in the room. He wondered if the shuffling noises were due to something they were doing. (Each other obviously.)

Hide looked back at Kaneki who sheepishly rubbed her neck. _So that's why she told me to knock._

* * *

Kaneki breathed in the room's air with closed eyes and felt immediate content. _It smells like coffee…_

"What is it Nagachika?" A gruff, but familiar voice growled. "You know, I really hate it when people come into my territory."

Kaneki was startled out of her reverie by the voice. She looked around from behind Nagachika and found that it was indeed the same guy from the grocery store.

"Who is that?" Nagachika asked, pointing to the brown haired girl in the room. She was blushing profusely and didn't look up at any of the two newcomers.

"None of your shitty business, now I asked you a question." The hazelnut-eyed boy growled.

"H-hey...just calm down Nishio-senpai," Nagachika replied, feeling like he was treading on thin ice.

"Um, excuse me." Kaneki timidly spoke up.

All eyes turned to the soft-spoken girl who cringed at the attention. She glanced at the jar of Blondy sitting precariously on the sill of a window.

"May I…" She trailed off, realizing how stupid her question was, though, she couldn't back down now, "Have a cup of coffee?"

Nagachika gave her a look that said, _you must have a death wish._ And the other girl's face mirrored Hide's disbelief.

"You're…" Nishio eyed the raven disdainfully. The tension in the room was palpable.

Realization sparked in the hazel-haired man's eyes and suddenly, his lips quirked up into a smirk and he barked out a laugh. Much to the shock of the others in the room, he said, "Sure, why the hell not?"

Kaneki felt her tense shoulders drop and smiled. "Thank you very much!"

The coffee was brewed without a hitch. All Nagachika and Kimi, the other girl in the room as Nishio introduced her, could do was stare. Kaneki accepted the coffee gratefully, happy to have another cup of this heaven-sent drink.

"So," Nishio started, inspecting Kaneki closely, getting a few jealous looks from Kimi in the process. "You're that girl from the grocery store yesterday, the one buying a ridiculous amount of coffee. Kaneki, if I remember correctly."

"U-umm, yes. That would be me…" Kaneki looked at her feet. "Th-thanks for recommending Blondy. I can see why you like the brand."

"Yeah, whatever. It's fine. Might as well introduce myself formally." Nishio held out a hand for Kaneki to shake. "Nishio Nishiki, second year from the pharmaceutical department."

"K-Kaneki Kenna, first year Literature major." She took the offered hand.

"Excuse me!" Nagachika butted into the conversation, not ready to be forgotten. "There are two other people in this room, y'know?"

"Tch. You shitty brat, have some respect for your elders will you?" Nishio scowled and opened his mouth to say something probably very insulting, but Kimi intervened.

"Nishiki," her voice held a hint of amusement and of exasperation, she was clearly used to his little bursts of anger. "I have to go, however," she smiled menacingly, giving shivers to everyone in the room. "Please don't do anything rash."

"Whatever, just go already, shitty woman." Nishio turned away from his girlfriend with an air of, _fuck off already._

A vein popped on the brunette's face and her eyebrow twitched. "Listen here…"

Nagachika, clearly bored, turned away from the lover's spat going on in favor of talking to Kaneki.

"So you've met Nishio-senpai before?"

The raven nodded. "It's simple really," She took a sip of her coffee "I was at the grocery store trying to pick a brand of coffee and he just helped me pick out one."

She took another sip and sighed out of pure bliss, getting an odd stare from Nagachika.

 _She's so different when she's relaxed._ He was going to comment on that, but what came out instead was, "You really like coffee, don't you?"

Kaneki smiled secretively. "It's the only thing I can stomach right now." She quickly added, "With the accident and all."

Nagachika was about to respond when Nishio spoke. Sometime during Kaneki and Nagachika's talk, Kimi left.

"Shitty woman finally got off my back…" Nishio mumbled, not liking being scolded.

"Anyway, what did you want Nagachika?"

"Uhh, what _did_ I want?" He sheepishly turned to stare at Kaneki as if she had the answer, which she did.

"Last year's festival DVD?" She asked helpfully.

"Ah right! That." Nagachika looked back at Nishio who shrugged and went over to the shelves, easily plucking the disc off of it.

"Here." Nishio tossed it to the younger boy and made a shooing motion. "Now get your shitty ass out of my territory."

"Umm, thank you?" Nagachika questioned, not sure if it was really a gratitude-worthy situation. "Anyway, let's go Kuroneko!" He smiled brightly, blinding her, and she would've smiled back if she hadn't grasped the full effects of the situation.

 _This can't be real. He'll just forget me like everyone else._

She stepped back, her hand grasping the cup of coffee tightly. Cracks started running up the side and the liquid burned her hand.

"Hey...Are you okay?" Nagachika reached out to her slowly, so as not to make the situation worse. She finally registered the sting of the heat on her hands and quickly set the cup down, batting away his hand at the same time.

"I-I...H-home." She coughed, clearing her throat. "I've, um, got to go home Nagachika-kun," Kaneki replied formally. Her defenses were back up and that dent Hide had made previously was now a mere scratch.

"Whaaaat? Oh, come on don't leave me alone now!" Nagachika whined, clearly not happy. Though, you could tell he knew something was wrong.

Kaneki shrugged, trying to shift back into her colder demeanor. "I'm sorry...maybe next time?" She asked it in such a way that made it clear she wasn't even sure of the answer herself. Bowing, she left Nagachika to wallow in self-pity—and confusion—all alone.

* * *

Nishio observed the spectacle with knowing eyes. The annoying twit wailed as Kaneki left, however, Nishio tried to ignore the loud cries. Instead, he inspected the coffee cup. The way the girl nearly broke the mug so easily, so carelessly…it wasn't _human._

* * *

Kaneki was avoiding Nagachika. She was avoiding him. She was _avoiding_ him _._

She kept telling herself that he was acting. That he didn't actually care for her. That, even if he did like her, she would only corrupt him. At this point, she'd just end up devouring him, the only living person she was close to trusting.

He kept bothering her at school, more so than usual. He knows she's avoiding him, but the hunger was getting worse and so was her agitation with his constant pestering.

Recently she almost bit him. _Almost_. It was so _tempting_ and he was so _annoying_. Can't he take a hint? One moment he's Sherlock Holmes and the next he's an air-headed idiot, neither of which are fun to be around. At least, not for her. She ended up giving the boy her phone number after becoming too tired to protest. Bad decision. Her phone was filled to the brim with spam.

She's even skipping school, because running away is _always_ the answer. The university doesn't suspect a thing anyway. She's just been telling them that she was sick. People are susceptible to diseases after receiving a wound. Technically, it's not a lie either, she has been feeling pretty out of it lately.

Then there's the overwhelming hunger…She needs to do something about it but is at a loss. Honestly, what _is_ she going to do? Walk into a cafe and ask for a bag of meat, preferably human? That just sounds crazy.

No matter how she looked at it, there was always the conclusion of killing someone. A situation she hopes she'll never get into. She might not be the most sociable or friendly person, but that doesn't mean she'll freely devour another human being. No way in hell. She would kill herself first, which is basically impossible with her abnormal healing speed and her invincibility to knives and bullets.

One thing is for sure, though, she needed to get away. Soaking in morbid thoughts like this isn't good for her sanity. She needs to go.

So, the raven grabbed her keys, wallet, and phone and left her house, medical eyepatch in place. She walked along the less populated areas where she could avoid as much human contact as possible. Though the fresh air didn't do much as she still felt all the thoughts bounce around in her head.

It wasn't long until she started running. Faster and faster and faster. As fast as her legs could carry her, which was surprisingly fast compared to her normal running speed. It just solidified the fact that she was now a ghoul.

She felt the wind whip around her face, her thoughts being carried away by the breeze. She didn't know how long she ran, but it felt like years had passed by the time she was done.

Which lead her to this situation. Breathless, leaning over a metal railing on the side of the road, looking down the long drop which has been known to take many lives before. Her stomach growled and cursed at her and she didn't know what overtook her at that moment to climb over the railing, but she let it guide her. In an instant, she was looking at the ground several stories below. _Just jump it's not like anyone will care,_ a traitorous part of her mind spoke. She wanted to argue but the words couldn't find the words.

A buzzing came from her pockets and she made a quick grab for her phone. She needed a distraction. Any distraction.

 _Nagachika-san._

A slight smile appeared on her face and she brought her finger over the answer button. As she brought her finger down, she wavered and her smile faded. _What am I doing? I'm supposed to be avoiding him._ A long sigh escaped her lips. _Ah, whatever. I don't care anymore._

Shakily, she pressed the answer button.

" _Kaneki? Is that really you?"_ A worried Nagachika fretted.

She didn't answer so the boy kept talking.

" _Because I was afraid you were going to give me a fake number for nagging you so much. I'm really worried about you, you know. Are you sick or something? At least, that's what I've heard. Somehow, I know it's not true. The teachers bought it, though, they really seem to respect you. Although you do have the best grades in class… So it probably makes sense and…"_

She listened through the whole thing, as the nervous boy nattered on, talking about this and that. Eventually, he ran out of topics and there was dead silence.

" _Kaneki...you're really not fair. I thought we could finally become friends…I thought I had finally gotten through to myself as well as you, but then you freaked out and...Just tell me why."_

Silence.

" _Kaneki, I—"_

"Hide." Kaneki was able to silence the boy by simply saying his first name.

"Is it okay," She closed her eyes. "If I rest for a while?"

The usually energetic boy stilled on the other end of the line. _"As long as you come back…please."_ The yearning in his voice was so strong that the girl couldn't deny him.

"I will."

" _Then it's fine."_

She hung up and sighed heavily, though another smile made its way across her face. Honestly, what was she thinking anyway? In her state now, falling from this height wouldn't hurt her.

She began climbing back over the railing when disaster struck. The agonizing hunger unexpectedly gripped her stomach and she felt herself black out momentarily. The next thing you know, she was falling.

* * *

Omake 1.0:

"Um, excuse me." Kaneki timidly spoke up.

"May I…" She trailed off, realizing how stupid her question was but couldn't back down now, "Have a cup of coffee?"

Nagachika gave her a look that said, _you must have a death wish._ And the other girl in the room had a fearful look, not sure how this would play out.

Nishio shrugged. "Sure, why the hell not?"

Kaneki felt her tense shoulders drop and smiled. "Thank you very-"

"It was a joke you shitty brat." Nishio scowled. "Why the fuck would I let you have a cup of shitty coffee anyway. What makes you so special?"

Kaneki took a step back, her eyes watered and she hiccupped.

Cue the waterworks.

"I-I'm sorrrrrryyyyyyyy!" She ran out of the room crying and apologizing at the same time.

* * *

Omake 2.0

Kaneki's attempts at avoiding certain blonde-haired idiots:

Attempt # 1: Don't let him notice you.

Kaneki walked into school with a brown paper bag on her head. Everyone stared at her.

"Yo Kuroneko! What's with the new fashion statement?" Hide took the paper off her head. "You can suffocate like that, y'know?"

Failed.

Attempt # 2: Don't look at him.

Kaneki was at lunch, keeping her head as low as possible.

"Hey, Kuroneko!" Hide tried to shove his face into Kaneki's line of sight. She looked away and pushed her hood far down over her head. He knocked it off and tried to get her to look at him again. She turned her head away.

He walked in front of her.

She got up and started to walk away.

He followed her.

She ran.

He ran after her.

She eventually became tired.

He caught up to her, grabbed her face, and stared into her eyes.

"I win." He smiled.

FAILED.

Attempt # 3: Ignore him.

Kaneki was able to avoid the idiot for a good three hours before he found her and started talking up a storm.

"Hey, hey, since ghouls are real do you think vampires and werewolves are too? I mean that would be totally awesome! Well not awesome for us because, you know, we'd be food. But then if vampires and werewolves were real then wizards and witches would be too and then we'd all be like Harry Potter and be super powerful! Then we could fight back against the greater species and maybe win! Like that would be really awesome—"

"Nagachika-san, if I give you my phone number will you please _shut up_?"

The obnoxious boy smiled. "Sure~!" He chirped.

 **FAILED.**

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm so sorrrryyy! I honest-to-God meant to get this chapter out on Friday, but then I saw how many revisions needed to be done and ughhhhh. Then, I was going to get all of the revisions done on Saturday night, but I kinda fell asleep while doing it. It was funny, though. I woke up in the morning and there were a bunch of misplaced commas in the text. You know, like this: '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Anyway, this chapter was originally going to be very different. Kaneki was actually gonna jump, willingly off the cliff. I know, I know. Shocking. The story is still the same of course, I'll just have to revise some _more_ things.

*sigh*

Until then!

(P.S.) The omakes are going to be a regular thing, just to lighten up a dark story. Y'know?

Sincerely,

Krazypeople


	4. The Raven with Clipped Wings

**Disclaimer:** Let's face it, I'm not nearly talented enough to even think about owning Tokyo Ghoul. It's not going to happen.

 **A/N:** Just a quick author's note here...Sorry it's two days late...Also, for those who don't know or who have forgotten, the set update date is the first Friday of every month.

Guest Reviews:  
 **Guest (1):** Here's another new chappie for you! :) (Also, your questions will be answered in my other, longer author's note in the bottom. You had some really good questions that I want all of this story's followers to know about!)

The Ayato ship thing I'll answer now since it was more of a personal question: Having Ayato like the female Kaneki actually doesn't seem too far off, thinking about it now. I think it's a plausible situation and the more I think about it the more I like it! So, yeah, there's probably going to be a relationship between them, I'm thinking it's going to be purely platonic, though.

 **Dotti3:** Thank you once again for your kindness, your comments make me so happy! I'm so overjoyed that you are enjoying this, I really hope you can bear with my weird update schedule and see this to the end. Thank you so much! :)

 **Guest (2):** Don't worry about your English, there was nothing wrong with it...I'm guessing that it's not your first language? Anyway, Eto being caring towards Kaneki had not crossed my mind, thanks for the idea, actually! There are so many directions to take this story, but so far I think I'm leaning more towards Kaneki joining Aogiri tree..hmmm. I actually haven't watched the anime yet, so I'm not sure what Kaneki did in while in Aogiri tree. Anyway, thanks for your lovely review, I hope you find this chapter to your expectations!

Chapter 3: Death

Quick Recap:

Kaneki discovers coffee and meets Nishiki. Hide makes a move on her (not in that way, mind you) and they become almost friends, however, Kaneki pushes him away and relapses back into a solitude-centered mindset. Her hunger grows, almost to the point of consuming (lol, get it? Badum-tsss) her, and she has suicidal thoughts. The raven finds herself standing at the side of the road behind some metal railing and before she knows it, she's falling down.

 _A silver-haired man watched silently as a girl, standing on a cliff at the side of the road, went through several different changes. Despair, resignation, then determination. She, who was nearly about to kill herself before, made a split-second decision not to do it. But as she turned around to leave the cliff, she fell._

 _The man made no move to save her. He was used to seeing death, so he was easily able to detach himself from the events going on right before his eyes. After all, if he let her live, there would be certain 'people' unable to eat._

 _The girl looked shocked, then scared. She was far away but he could easily spot the emotions going wild on her face._

 _He watched as the girl closed her eyes in a reluctant acceptance of the events. The man waited for the sound of a body hitting the ground, but it never came. The girl, showing strength and resolve that was not in her previously, suddenly shot her eyes open and—cat-like—twisted mid-air to cling to the side of the cliff. For a brief moment, it seemed like she was going to slide off. She was able to hold on, however._

 _The man wasn't surprised; he's seen it all before. The girl would try to hang on only to realize she didn't have enough strength and he would continue to take the lifeless body for the food reserve._

 _The girl stayed clinging to the cliff for a longer time than he had expected. She tried to climb down once or twice, however, it proved to be futile as it was too steep. He saw her scrutinize the area for any escape, but again there was nothing. Eventually, her hand slipped and she, wide-eyed, started falling again. The man had to applaud her for her persistence and stubbornness._

 _She landed on the ground with a sickening crack and he knew the struggle was over. He slowly edged toward the limp body and gently searched it for any ID so he could somehow contact a friend or relative about the death. He found a small brown wallet, keys, a cell phone, and, oddly, a small medical eyepatch. All of which miraculously survived the fall. Pocketing the eyepatch to examine later, the man decided to check the other items first. The cell phone was useless, as he didn't know her password, and so were the keys. In the wallet, he was able to find a simple school identification._

 _ **Kamii University**_

 _ **Kaneki Kenna  
Female  
Literature Major**_

Kamii? _The man wondered._ That's a pretty high-level school.

 _A stir drew his attention back to the 'dead' body, which apparently wasn't as dead as he thought. The girl groaned._

 _The man was puzzled. That was a two-story drop. She should definitely be dead unless…_

 _A sniff._

 _She was a ghoul._

 _How could he have not noticed before? The scent was faint, barely even there. However, the supernatural strength, effortless air mobility, and even the reason why she wanted to commit suicide were all because of her ghoul DNA._

 _He contemplated leaving the girl to rot but seeing her spurred emotions of sympathy, and he just couldn't leave her there. Boosting his resolve, he grabbed her and dragged her to his hidden car, parked cleverly in the shadows, away from any wandering eyes._

 _Hopefully, he wouldn't regret this decision._

 _The car drove to a stop right in front of a quaint cafe. A sign out front had the name_ Anteiku _written on it in fancy letters with chalk. A sturdy and silent man got out of the car and walked to the passenger's seat to grab a sleeping girl, carrying her bridal style._

 _He got a few odd stares which just screamed_ "pedophile!" _, however, he ignored them for the most part._

 _As the man opened the door, he was greeted by the manager, an older man with a calming smile._

" _Ah, welcome back Renji-kun."_

 _Renji silently nodded back in a greeting._

 _The manager noticed the girl being carried in Renji's arms and gestured to her._

" _Who might that be?"_

" _...She's one of us."_

 _The manager's eyes sharpened. "I see."_

" _She tried to commit suicide?" The manager asked, eyes revealing sorrow-filled empathy as he looked at the girl resting peacefully on one of the break room's couches._

 _A nod. Renji looked at the elder with seemingly blank eyes, but years of knowing the now quiet man enabled the manager to decipher the hidden message:_ Help her like you helped me.

 _The manager smiled. "Of course."_

" _Yoshimura," Renji spoke, never taking his eyes away from the resting girl. Her strong will...it reminded him vaguely of his sister._

" _Hmmm?" The other man looked at Renji._

" _What are you going to do with her?"_

 _Yoshimura smiled fondly at him. "Seems like someone has taken a shine to her?" The manager teased._

 _Renji opened his mouth to speak, the barest of blushes tinting his cheeks a bashful shade of pink, "I—"_

 _The girl stirred on the couch and the two men paid rapt attention. She slowly turned from her position on her side onto her back and her crusted-over eyelids fluttered open._

 _Yoshimura couldn't keep his eyes from shooting wide open and neither could Renji._

 _The girl...only had one kakugan...She was a half-ghoul._

 _She centered her eyes on the pair and both could instantly tell that she wasn't herself, her eyes cried out_ hunger _. It wasn't surprising when she attacked Renji._

Kaneki woke up in an unfamiliar setting on an unfamiliar couch under unfamiliar covers and in an unfamiliar room. She couldn't remember the prior events which led up to this moment and was quite confused. The most unusual thing about waking up, though, was the feeling of being completely rejuvenated and not at all hungry. She hadn't felt this energetic since, well, before the _accident._ Kaneki licked her lips and was met with the taste of iron. Taken aback, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and saw red.

 _Is this...blood? Wha-how? Where did it come from? Actually,_ Kaneki paused to observe her surroundings. _Where am I?_ She rubbed her eyes and looked around, seeing everything with surprising clarity, as her eyepatch usually left her visually impaired. The raven shot her hands up to her face and realized her eyepatch was gone. She panicked slightly and thought for a terror-filled moment that she had been found out. Standing, she let the covers fall haphazardly off of her in pursuit of a lost eyepatch. The girl tried to quietly shuffle around the room, observing her surroundings. The only source of light was from a window, right above the couch she was sleeping on. Judging by the amount of light pouring into the room, it was noon. The place looked like a small break room: three couches surrounded a small table in a U shape. A TV sat on a small television stand in front of the table. Her surroundings gave off a cozy feeling and she felt as if she'd been here before.

She looked at the table and saw all her small, white medical eyepatch, along with some other personal items. She sighed with relief and reached towards them.

A door parallel to the window opened, startling her, and she quickly dove back onto the couch and grabbed for the covers, turning away from the door so as to hide her face. She willed her breathing to become longer, deeper in order to imitate that of one dreaming. Her eyepatch laid on the table, forgotten.

"It's useless to feign sleep." A familiar female voice said, with a hint of annoyance. "I heard you moving all the way from the front room."

The ravenette still made no move and continued her act.

The intruder (or maybe Kaneki was the intruder?) sighed, and the sound of the cushions being breathing out dust alerted Kaneki to the fact that the stranger was now sitting down.

"You can turn around now."

Kaneki hesitated and furtively rolled over onto her other side in order to face her (presumed) adversary. Needless to say, she was surprised to see Kirishima Touka staring at her with an irritated—perhaps even inquisitive—expression.

"Hey." The waitress became suspicious at seeing the girl's face clearly and warily leaned in towards Kaneki. "Weren't you Rize's-"

The door opened and the word _meal_ was left hanging in the air.

Kirishima looked at the person who entered and then back at Kaneki. The waitress nodded at the silent girl in a _We'll talk later_ fashion and started to walk out of the room.

"Ah! Wait-!" Kaneki started but was cut off by the sound of the door slamming shut.

"I see you're awake." The man who entered spoke softly as if he were afraid that the girl lying before him would fall apart.

Kaneki decided not to answer and only stared inanimately at the man. Silently, she took in his face—wrinkled and old with years of experience—his white, pulled-back hair and his calming demeanor. If he was disturbed by her vapid gaze, then he certainly didn't show it.

"This is the second floor of Anteiku." He continued steadily. "Yomo-kun brought you here and I see you've already met Touka-chan."

This time, the girl answered with a small, barely noticeable nod.

"Good." The man smiled but, rather than being friendly and inviting, it was grim and solemn. "You're a bit pale," he paused, and Kaneki dreaded what he was going to say next. "Have you been eating right?"

That was it; Kaneki had been discovered. What would happen to her? Would they turn her in?

The fear must have been evident in her eyes because the man before her laughed, easing the girl into a calm, albeit confused, state. She hesitated, but eventually spoke up after the man stopped laughing.

"What?" The girl asked bluntly, not wanting to fool around.

"I'm sorry miss, but I feel like I must ease you of your stress." The man—who she still did not know the name of—smiled genuinely this time. "Here," he gestured to the whole cafe, "we help ghouls like you. Ghouls that cannot hunt or kill human beings for themselves."

Kaneki nodded slowly and glanced down before speaking again. "Recently…" She began. "My hunger has been dragging on for a long time… Occasionally at times I feel like I'm at the point where I'll starve to death… And even I don't understand the reason." She paused, trying to collect her thoughts. "But, now that's not entirely the case. The blood in my mouth." She made a forlorn face and Yoshimura's smile vanished. "I get it… This isn't mine." She looked up at the older man fiercely. "Answer me honestly… What… what have I become?"

He stared at her, one eye open; showing his kakugan. His face was deadly serious, mouth pressed into a thin line. "I think you know." He replied. "There's only one way to satisfy the hunger… You also know that." He walked up to the girl, his steps slow and careful as if he were walking through molasses.

"When you fell, you knew fully that you wouldn't die, this relieved and terrified you at the same time. You wanted to live, however, you also knew that there was no way to stop your impending hunger and you would've gone on a hunger-driven rampage." He was now standing in front of the ravenette, giving off a powerful aura. "If Renji-kun hadn't taken you, you would've woken and killed any and every person you came across… Please realize the type of person you've become."

The girl's eyes widened and the memories and feelings came rushing back.

 _The hunger made her blackout and she fell down a long drop that would surely kill her...If she were a normal human. As she is now, she's practically invincible and yet, she still felt so scared._

What is happening with me? Why can't I just think clearly? _Her mind swirled with answers, none of which completely satisfied her._ _She felt tears run across her cheeks. She knew she wasn't going to die...However, she was so terrified..._

 _Her mind irrationally shouted at her to save herself, but from what? A drop like this surely wouldn't kill a ghoul. So why were her emotions running rampant?_

 _The raven's thoughts continued to go on like this and it gave her a headache. She felt the air swoosh past all around her and knew that with every passing second the ground was getting closer. Her heart went a mile a minute, her eyes slammed shut and in her mind she tried to regain some type of order._

I just know...that if I hit that ground, there's no turning back.

 _Kaneki unexpectedly revived, twisting in the air with agility she never knew she had. She grabbed the cliff's wall and hung onto it with all her might. Her thoughts came back stronger than ever and her body resisted with a vengeance, but she was able to cling onto the rocky wall._

You should just let go, _A traitorous part of her mind whispered, her grip weakened._ Aren't you hungry? _Her stomach growled._ If you let go now...we can go on a rampage. _Kaneki's mouth twitched up into a crazy smile. "Yeah, I would like that!"_

 _She let go of the cliff wall and her eyes widened as she realized what she had just done. The raven flailed around fruitlessly._ Hide…I'm sorry.

Yoshimura watched silently as the girl's already somber and dark disposition seemed to be weighed down with his revelation. Her eyes were far too sad for a girl of her age and he wondered what exactly has happened in her lifetime. Well, besides becoming a ghoul of course.

The girl chuckled, drawing a curious glance from him.

"You're right about one thing, however, I'll have to disagree with you about the hunger part." She shrugged carelessly and silently drew a hand to her chin before hastily shoving it down. "I could care less about what happens to other people. I've never belonged, I was always different from the crowd. Too shy, too weird, all around strange. Now, I suppose that me being a ghoul enforces that fact." She glared at the man icily. "I'm neither human nor a ghoul. I'm all alone. I don't have any place where I belong and I'm perfectly fine with that."

 _Liar! Liar! Liar!_ Her mind screamed at herself.

The man was stunned into silence for a fleeting moment before letting a sympathetic smile come onto his face. He took out a handkerchief from his front breast pocket and asked, "Then, why are you crying?" He held out the item, bending over slightly in order to get closer.

She looked shocked. "Wha…?" She touched her face and, sure enough, her fingers became wet. She laughed. "I guess I am, huh?" A cruel smile spread onto her face and she accepted the handkerchief, but merely stared at it in her lap as the tears fell down onto it. "I've never been good at lying really."

The man stood back up. "I believe you're mistaken, though, by saying 'neither'."

Kaneki was unable to protest and he went on.

"You are a ghoul and at the same time a human. You are a single person who has two worlds in which to belong."

Kaneki stared at him with her sad eyes.

"Join our shop, Anteiku. We'll teach you how to live like a ghoul. Keeping your place as a human is definitely linked to that. And, in a short time, hopefully, you will come to terms with both existences."

The man once again smiled with such a kindness Kaneki has never seen before.

"How about it? But first… I'll show you how to make delicious coffee."

He smiled with such respite and reassurance that the Raven was able to ignore that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach—even for just a moment. Because, finally, for once in her life, she felt accepted.

She spread her wings and took off.

Omake 1.0

A stir drew his attention back to the 'dead' body, which apparently wasn't as dead as he thought. The girl groaned.

He walked over to the body and poked at it a little, eliciting an annoyed growl. The girl's eyes opened and she opened her mouth to say something but it was too late.

Renji freaked out. _OMFG, IT'S A ZOMBIE._ He drew out his Kagune and started beating the undead girl.

"OWWWW! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Silence you flesh eating monster!"

"Who the fuck are you calling a flesh eating monster?! You're a fucking ghoul!"

Omake 2.0

The raven's thoughts continued to go on like this and it gave her a headache. She felt the air swoosh past all around her and knew that with every passing second the ground was getting closer. Her heart went a mile a minute, her eyes slammed shut and in her mind, she tried to regain some type of order.

 _I just know...that if I hit that ground, there's no—_

Her thoughts were cut short, rudely so, by a face full of reality. Quite literally.

Right in her big moment of profound insight the ground decided to be a jackass and come closer.

Honestly, was it too much to ask for life to wait on her, hand and foot, while she tried to sort out her whole early-life crisis in a single life-threatening moment?! The answer was a resounding, _Yes, you goddamn idiot!_

Omake 3.0

She let go of the cliff wall and her eyes widened as she realized what she had just done. The raven flailed around fruitlessly. _Hide…I'm sorry._

She closed her eyes and was surprised as her back made immediate contact with the ground. She opened her eyes and looked up at her previous spot where she clung to the wall.

…

It was literally one foot off of the ground.

Omake 4.0

The door opened, startling her, and she quickly dove back under the covers—or at least, she tried to.

Keyword: tried.

She missed fantastically, overshooting the bed by a full foot and instead hit the window. But it didn't stop there, oh, no. Of course it didn't.

Life just seems to looove Kaneki so much that it decided, _Hey, since this girl seems to love falling so much, let's let her do so!_

So, that's how Kaneki managed to take yet another plunge from the two-story window of Anteiku.

 **IMPORTANT A/N:** A Guest reviewer asked me several questions about this story's direction and many of them are ones that I think everyone deserves to know an answer to.

 **1\. Will Kaneki become a part of or at least and ally to Anteiku?**

Haha, I think the answer to this question is self-explanatory after this chapter. Lol. Anyway, long story short, yes. She very much will be. Interactions will be different, though…I think.

 **2\. Who will Kaneki be shipped with? Hide? Ayato? Nishiki?**

Ahem, I really had not planned to address this question so early in the development of this story…The truth is, I have no idea. The answer to this question largely depends on how I develop the story as I go and whether or not you guys even want to have a ship.

If I'm being honest, I love HideKane. I 1000000000% ship them. The Ayato x Kaneki ship has never really been a favorite of mine (whispers, Ayato's Hina-chan's man), but I see the appeal. The guest (the one who asked all these questions) asked me about the ship and I like the idea of Ayato maybe developing a crush on Kaneki, but then it'll turn out to be a platonic thing in the end. As for Nishiki…He will forever be faithful to his girlfriend thank you very much! (Did you see the frankly depressing theory about Kimi being killed by Torso. I was devastated).

On another note, Shuuneki is a guilty (#notreallyguiltyatall) pleasure that I'm also quite in love with. Amoneki…could be a thing. I'm not planning on it. And, if you guys want, I'll even do Touken. I really like Touka and I think Kaneki is good for her. I've never taken an interest in Touken before, but I've really wanted to check it out.

Anyway, since the cat's outta the bag about my view on ships, you guys can feel free to vote on what relationships you want. I've never been good at romance, but my previous effort was with a ship that I wasn't even sure I liked.

(Also, I'll take side ships like pairing Touka with Yoriko…I like that pairing)

 **3\. In the case Kaneki is not involved with Anteiku, will the story go in a completely different direction plot-wise? Will she not get tortured by Jason or will she not meet Amon?**

Welp, as I said before, Kaneki is 100% joining Anteiku so answering this question is kinda pointless…However, I've contemplated doing an alternate version of this story after I finish it…There are just too many directions to take it and if I'm not satisfied by the end result, I can be satisfied in knowing another version will be put out.

 **4\. Will this story follow the anime or manga?**

Well, I'll be following the manga completely for now. I haven't even seen the anime yet…But following the anime is a possibility. (More information in the next answer to the following question).

 **5\. Will Kaneki join Aogiri tree?**

Okay, this is a tuffy. While I have an inkling of an idea of what I'm doing with the ships, I haven't the slightest about what I'm going to do about Aogiri. As I said before, I have not seen the anime, and for those who haven't read the manga, spoiler alert, Kaneki does not join Aogiri tree. In fact, Kaneki makes his own little vigilante group with Tsukiyama, Banjou, Hinami, and Banjou's goons in order to search for Kanou.

Continuing with my previous statement, because I have not watched the anime, I'm very reluctant to have Kaneki join Aogiri tree. I feel like I would screw it up and just get things wrong. Also, I'm very reluctant to watch the anime, mainly because I am married to the manga. And I maan _married._ However, one person has managed to open my eyes with a suggestion. You see, with Kaneki being so lonely and weak-minded, Eto could easily manipulate her, if given the chance (My second nameless guest reviewer's words, not mine. Though, anon is completely correct in their analysis), and I really like that idea. It's a lot better than what I came up with for the manga's plot-line (hint: I didn't come up with anything).

So yeah. The answer is a solid maybe.

And that concludes the Q&A section of today's chappie. Feel free to ask more questions, I love talking to you guys!

(P.S.) Sorry for the short(er) chapter. I felt like that was a good stopping point so I didn't write anymore. (Also a lazy authoress is a lazy authoress)

Sincerely,  
Krazypeople


	5. HalloweenThanksgiving Omake

**Disclaimer:** I have no right or claim whatsoever over the anime/manga the readers know as Tokyo Ghoul, this is merely a fanwork based off of the characters and plot and I am by no means making any money or profit off of it. Enjoy. (Or don't, I don't really care)

 **A/N:** Okay, I'm sorry for this later-than-usual update, and this one isn't even important, it's just an omake…Long story short, school is a 'female dog', Midterms are coming up, and I have a project to finish. So, I can't find the time to edit the next chapter and trust me, it needs all the edits it can get. I absolutely refuse to publish it the way it is now. Sooo I hope you guys can be satisfied with this Halloween/Thanksgiving double-feature Omake thingy. (Don't mind the fact that Halloween was literally about a month ago hahahahahaha)

Also, I don't mean to get all emotional on you guys, but I noticed I haven't really thanked you for staying with me all this time, so I'll do it now! Ahem, thank you all for reading my story and for your kind reviews! I had a lot of mixed feelings publishing this story, but I realize those emotions were all for naught at seeing all the positivity from you guys. Thank you so much!

(P.S.) A **shipping poll** is up on my page now, if you want to go vote.

Guest Replies:

 **Guest (1):** Yes, little Kaneko is a kitty at heart. :3

 **J:** Etoken, huh? I have not seen much of that pairing.

 **Kawaii:** Woah, you're quite the rare shipper. I didn't think I would see a JuuzouxKaneki person in this story-that's not a bad thing though! (And Shuuneki is love, Shuuneki is life, buuuut I'm not sure if it's gonna happen)

* * *

Holloween

 _Little 12-year-old Hide walked to his friend's house in his homemade costume, humming as he walked along the darkening streets. His friends were all meeting at Akira's house so they could start trick-or-treating!_

 _With a grin on his face, the blonde arrived and knocked on his friend's green door, which opened with a bang as his friends greeted him enthusiastically._

" _Hide's here!"_

" _Mou, we've been waiting for you since for-ev-er!"_

" _Wait—_ what _are you_ wearing _?"_

 _His friends laughed at the crappy costume as soon as they saw him, and he laughed along with them because it was just that bad—also, he was a suck up._

" _Dude, are serious? The_ sun _?"_

 _A giggle. "Yeah, Hide! What were you thinking?! You'll never get a lot of candy looking like that!"_

 _The little boy smiled politely at his friends teasing jabs, which hurt more than he let on. He thought he would fit the part perfectly! But, looking at his other friends, he realized he appeared horribly out of place. While he was wearing a crappy cardboard costume, cut and painted to look like the sun with a hole in it to put his head through, his friends were wearing professional-looking outfits of witches, pirates, and Star Wars characters._

" _I was just too lazy to do anything fancy…" Hide laughed dryly. The truth is, he spent hours on this costume. He insisted on making the thing by himself, so his parents backed off and left him to his own devices…In hindsight, maybe he should've let them help him._

 _None of the other children noticed their friend's ire and they continued mocking him as they began walking through the neighborhood._

" _Ne, ne, it's so dark out here! Hide, do your job correctly!"_

" _Yeah, yeah! C'mon Mr. Sun, where's all the light?"_

 _Hide puffed out his chest and, grabbing a flashlight he brought with him—his mom insisted on it—the blonde jumped onto a nearby tree stump and flicked the black flashlight on. "Ta-da~!" He shined it on his friend's faces, smirking as he saw his clown-like antics got a laugh out of them. "And Hide said, 'Let there be light'!" He cried, smiling like a fool._

" _Haha! Since when did you become God?"_

 _Hide jumped down from the tree stump and put a hand on his hip—the one that was holding the flashlight. "Don't you know? I was God from the very beginning." Hide shook his head as if he were patronizing his friends._

" _Hide, you're so ridiculous!" A brunette laughed, her shoulders shaking from her giggling._

 _The sun-clad boy grinned in response. "Yeah, but you love me anyway!"_

* * *

 _Kaneki sat at the kitchen table, toilet paper wrapped around her in a cheap imitation of a mummy. Under the wrappings, she wore green shorts and a yellow t-shirt._

 _The girl would be going out to get candy but her aunty said that she didn't deserve to go…that Halloween was pointless. (That_ Kaneki _was pointless) And yet, the woman allowed her own son to go. The one that stays inside to play video games all day. The one that fails nearly every test at school. The one that is a carbon copy of aunty._

 _Kaneki would've pointed out the irony in the situation, but she didn't want another bruise to be added to her ever-growing collection._

 _A horror movie played in the background, adding to the Halloween spirit. The middle-schooler heard the small grunts of surprise coming from the living room where her aunty and her uncle sat on the couch, watching the TV._

 _Kaneki wasn't allowed to watch TV. Aunty didn't want to waste the electrical bills on a worthless girl. Kaneki was supposed to focus on her studies. Passing grades don't make themselves. Kaneki was supposed to fend for herself in this matriarchal hierarchy in the family. She was given a daily allowance of a few hundred yen to eat every day. Kaneki was supposed to "not be an annoyance." Aunty said she was an annoyance anyway._

 _Kaneki was dead tired._

 _Kaneki didn't care anymore._

 _Ah, but right now Kaneki had to get her homework or else Aunty would hi—scold her for her bad grades. (The woman 'scolded' her when she got good grades too so it doesn't really matter anyway)_

 _The doorbell rung. The hollow girl didn't hear her aunty getting up to get the door. Kaneki got up to get the door instead._

 _The collective chorus of "Trick-or-Treat!" sounded as the mummy answered the door, holding a bowl of candy._

 _Kaneki looked up at the group of trick-or-treaters and immediately wished she hadn't._

" _Oh, Kaneki—that is your name, right?" Nagachika asked. (Though, he really didn't need to because he knows the girl's name inside-out, forwards and backwards, and by heart)_

 _If Kaneki's eyes got any wider, they could gain enough gravitational pull to become their own planets._

" _N-Nagachika-san…" The girl looked behind the popular boy and, sure enough, he had an entourage._

" _Pfft, what's with that costume? It's even worse than Hide's."_

" _Lol, she was probably too ashamed to go trick-or-treating looking like that."_

" _Yeah, she's literally wearing trash! Haha!"_

 _Nagachika frowned—scowled actually. Whipping around faster than a tornado, he sent a glare towards his friends, all of which were surprised at the usually easy-going boy's reaction. "Kaneki's costume is fine! Just look at how realistic the make-up is!"_

 _Kaneki wasn't wearing make-up. Ouch._

 _The friends, sufficiently chastised, begrudgingly nodded along with Hide's point._

"… _Yeah, the bruises are pretty realistic…I guess."_

" _Un, they're all dark and purple-y."_

" _Eh, I've seen better, though."_

 _Kaneki decided to stop the remarks there, partly from disgust from how quickly they jumped on the bandwagon and partly from…actually, it was just disgust._

" _I don't have make-up on."_

 _Silence._

" _But, what about the marks on your arms and legs?" Nagachika questioned cautiously, dipping his feet into dangerous territory._

 _Kaneki felt her eyes widen once more for the day. She literally just indirectly told them about her abuse._

" _O-oh those! They're from…falling…down the stairs…repeatedly." She wanted to smack herself._

 _Like hell they were from falling down the stairs! There was one shaped in a freaking hand-print on her wrist!_

 _All of the kids had the decency not to point that out._

" _O-oh, I, uh, didn't take you for a clumsy person." Nagachika broke the silence._

 _The (non-make-up wearing) girl practically shoved the candy bowl out for her classmates to take, not ready for them to discover any of her other secrets._

" _Take two."_

 _They didn't take only two, but Kaneki was too embarrassed to say anything more._

 _She felt relief, and oddly enough disappointment when the group left._

 _She should've thanked Nagachika for standing up for her._

 _Kaneki snorted._ Whatever _._

* * *

 _Kaneki's classmates left her alone for a couple of weeks after that. It didn't last any longer than that, though._

* * *

Thankless Giving

" _You need_ more _money? B-but, I need it to celebrate Thanksgiving with Kenna…"_

 _Kaneki stilled as she heard her mommy's incredulous voice float into the living room._

" _N-no, it won't be a problem!"_

 _Kaneki pouted. Her mommy was doing it again._

" _Yes, of course, I'll get the money, I'll think of something!"_

 _The little girl recognized the edge in her mommy's voice. She got up from the couch, bringing her daddy's book with her. Kaneki would have to disappear for a while._

" _I'll be sure to get you the money by then…Goodbye, sister."_

 _The sound of the phone being slammed down onto the receiver made Kaneki flinch and speed up. No way was she going to be in the middle of another one of her mommy's fits._

* * *

" _Here mommy." Kaneki held out her piggy bank with hopeful eyes._

" _You…" Her mommy looked at her with hate, smacking the piggy bank out of her hands._

" _M-mommy?" The piggy bank shattered._

" _It's all your fault!" Her mommy slammed Kaneki's head down onto the ground, kicking the girl over and over and over again._

 _The crazed screams filled the tiny room, a mixture of sobbing and screaming. "If you weren't here, I would have enough money! If you weren't here…if you weren't here…if only you weren't here." It was just sobbing now._

" _K-kenna, don't turn into your mother, okay?" The woman brought her unconscious child up to her chest. "Don't be the one to hurt others, be the one getting hurt. Don't be like me…do not be like me, please…"_

 _The next morning, all Kaneki would remember of the previous night were the gentle hugs and soft whisperings of her insane mother._

* * *

 _Thanksgiving came. Kaneki's mother got the money._

 _The two had a microwaveable dinner for the holiday._

 _Kaneki told her mother she was thankful for having "such a wonderful mommy!"_

 _Kaneki's mother cried. Her little girl thought they were tears of joy (they weren't)._

* * *

 _When her mommy died, Kaneki was completely lost. She didn't know how to go on. She didn't want to go on. Then her aunty reached out to her, and Kaneki was thankful._

* * *

 _The little girl found trouble connecting her mother to her aunty._

 _Her mother was crazy, her aunty was kind. Her mother was always working, her aunty was there for her always. Her mother was an abuser, her aunty only gave out gentle touches._

It's official, _Kaneki concluded._ Aunty is nothing like mommy.

* * *

 _That year's Thanksgiving was wonderful, filled with food and laughter. With warmth and love. With acceptance, with content. (And a touch of malice, not that Kaneki would've noticed, nor did Kaneki realize the fact that all the money to pay for these wonderful things were from her mother. Her dead mother who died from exhaustion.)_

 _Kaneki didn't sweat the small details, she was just happy to be with her family._

* * *

 _Everything changed when it was made clear that Kaneki was smarter than aunty's son._

" _Look aunty!" Kaneki smiled shyly as she presented yet another 100 to her makeshift mother, fully expecting a smile and a pat on the back for her hard work._

" _Ara, ara? Another one?" The woman turned to her child. "And what did you get sweetie?"_

 _The lazy boy sheepishly held up his own grade, showing a 30 in bright red colors._

 _Kaneki missed the tightening grip her aunty had on the cooking utensil in her hand._

" _Sweetie, go to your room." Kaneki made a move to leave, but was stopped by a firm grip on her arm. "Not you Kaneki, you stay." Alarms blared in Kaneki's mind._

 _As soon as aunty had the little girl alone, all hell broke loose._

" _You insolent brat!"_

 _Kaneki was pushed onto the floor._

" _How dare you boast about yourself?! Do you think you're better than I am?"_

" _I never—"_

" _Silence!" The shrill scream startled the little girl._

" _You don't deserve to be here, I should've never taken you in! Get out! Go!"_

 _Kaneki didn't stay and test her luck._

 _That night, Kaneki slept by her mother's grave, thinking that her aunty and her mommy weren't so different after all._

* * *

 _Kaneki tried to win favor from her aunt again._

" _Here aunty, I got your favorite fruit!"_

 _Her aunty looked at it coldly. "I don't like it anymore."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _Here aunty, I made you a flower wreath!"_

" _It's ugly." Her aunty tossed it in the trash._

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _Here aunty, I made you a card."_

 _The woman ripped it into pieces._

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _I'll run the errands for you."_

" _You'll just screw it up." She walked past Kaneki._

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _I can help with cooking."_

 _The woman glared at the nuisance._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _That Thanksgiving, Kaneki found 10,000 yen on the table._

* * *

" _Class, listen up!" The teacher clapped her hands together to get her students' attentions. "We're making thank you cards for Thanksgiving today!"_

 _The class cheered. Kaneki didn't._

 _As the teacher passed out paper and other supplies for card-making, she noticed that Kaneki was just staring blankly at her paper._

" _What's the matter, Kaneki-chan?" The teacher leaned down to check on her quietest student._

" _Sensei…I don't know what to write."_

 _Kaneki's teacher laughed. "Why, that's what you're worried about? You can write just about anything, even a 'Thank you for feeding me' card."_

 _The quiet girl didn't even crack a smile. "Sensei, I don't feel too good."_

" _Ahh, um…you can go to the nurse's office." The teacher said, taken aback by the girl's dull behavior._

 _Kaneki wasted no time in leaving._

* * *

 _That Thanksgiving, Kaneki found that she had nothing to give thanks for._

* * *

 **A/N:** I apologize once more for this unexpected and late update... On a lighter note, did you notice the pun on Halloween and the double meaning on Thankless Giving? :P Also, if you see any mistakes just leave a review or PM me, I unfortunately didn't have time to edit this one.


End file.
